A word from Wendi, the 'Pinata' costume creator:

I made this for my 2 year old out of felt and pajamas. It took FOREVER lol. It's pretty straight forward just cut the felt pieces in strips and hot glue them on to the PJ's. The hat is made out of thick cardboards and more felt. The ears are just cones made out of thick paper. I got the idea from online but there are not too many photos or instructions.

I love this! What a clever idea! Just curious, about how much felt did you use?

#4 comment by Wendi WillSeptember 17, 2012

I used about 30 sheets of regular paper sized felt.

#5 comment by AnnieSeptember 18, 2012

Wendi what did you use to make the hat? I love this costume and im going to make one for my son!

#6 comment by WendiSeptember 19, 2012

The hat I used that foam type paper you can get at Walmart. I just cut out the pieces in the shape of the head and then just hot glued them together and the ears part of the hat is pretty much the same thing. Then I put a regular ball cap on my son and put the costume hat on over-top. You might find it easier to use a hoodie to make this but for me knowing my son, I knew he wouldn't keep a hoodie on but a ball cap he will. Maybe I will take a video of it and put it on Youtube to show you. I'll try that and let you know

#7 comment by WendiSeptember 20, 2012

Here is a youtube video of my costume and how I made it...I hope I am aloud to post this.

Hot glued it all...only cause I don't own a sewing machine and its only going to worn once.

#10 comment by ChandaOctober 3, 2012

If you hot glued over the snaps or zipper, how did he get the costume off and on? It's ADORABLE btw! :)

#11 comment by WendiOctober 4, 2012

The top of the Pjs is wide enough that he can slip it on that way. Sorry I should have showed that

#12 comment by Lisa S.October 6, 2012

I'm attempting this for my 3 yr old..I decided to go with a two piece set instead of 1 piece pjs, but after doing the pants, I'm thinking I should have done the 1 Pc.. The pants are pretty heavy, so I'm looking for some kids suspenders :).. I'm about to start the shirt...but I'm dreading the hat, mainly cause I'm not sure how to shape it....thanks again for this great idea and for sharing.

#13 comment by WendiOctober 6, 2012

Oh ya I guess I never thought of the fact that the pants might get too heavy to stay up..hmm maybe if someone else tries it they might want to use pants with a draw string.

#14 comment by TiffanyOctober 6, 2012

I also did two pieces and made the pants using crepe paper instead of felt because we live in Florida and I thought the felt would be too hot. It worked out perfectly, and they are really light weight. Unfortunately though, I stopped there because my 2 year old son did not like wearing it because the pants i used were a tad bit small.

#15 comment by Lindsay @Artsy-Fartsy MamaOctober 15, 2012

LOVE this idea!! Too cute!!

#16 comment by JamieOctober 16, 2012

How wide did you cute the strips? I assume you cute long ways. It looks to me as curing into thirds? Would this be about right?

#17 comment by WendiOctober 16, 2012

I bought the felt in sheets which are the same size as a piece of paper. I did cut it the long way. I don't know what you mean by "curing into thirds"

#18 comment by SharlaOctober 23, 2012

This is adorable! I'm going to try it for my son this year :)

#19 comment by kelbelOctober 26, 2012

Thank you for posting this. My daughter loved it, so we made it. My finger tips are a little burned from the hot glue but it looks AWESOME.

#20 comment by SteffOctober 28, 2012

I loved this so I am making it fir my 11 year old daughter and it is taking forever!!! Any ideas how to speed it up? I'm sewing the strips on

#21 comment by WendiOctober 28, 2012

Use hot glue instead? Its not like it's needs to be perfect :) Good Luck

#22 comment by LillyOctober 31, 2012

the snoring in the background is hilarious!

#23 comment by WendiOctober 31, 2012

Ya that's from my dog who is an English Bulldog, he snores when he's awake lol

#24 comment by Lisa S.October 31, 2012

I am one proud mama... This was my first crafty project.. And no matter how many times I was asked where I got the idea of making a piņata costume, I never got tired of saying that I found it on Pinterest and followed Wendi's video :). Thank you again for sharing your idea, Wendi!

Thank you, Im not sure how I am going to top this next year but I have a few ideas!!

#28 comment by OwenNovember 17, 2012

Awesome Costume I love it

#29 comment by RebeccaNovember 19, 2012

very cute and unique, great idea!!!!!

#30 comment by GidgetNovember 19, 2012

So cute! And even better when you see it in person

#31 comment by Sarah BernierNovember 19, 2012

Too cute! I remember seeing him at a few of the Halloween parties thinking that was an awesome costume! Great job! :)

#32 comment by LeahNovember 19, 2012

So cute.. What a great, unique costume :)

#33 comment by ClaireNovember 19, 2012

So unique :) So cute, love it.

#34 comment by ChristineNovember 19, 2012

What a great looking costume!!! He looks so adorable. I can't believe it is homemade!

#35 comment by Kara KerrivanNovember 19, 2012

What a creative costume! Great job, he looks amazing!

#36 comment by Jen KnowlesNovember 19, 2012

I love this costume! Mom needs a birthday hat and a beating stick lol

#37 comment by Leslie PriceNovember 19, 2012

So creative!!!! He is adorable!

#38 comment by JessicaNovember 19, 2012

very original, can'y say i've ever seen a real life pinata

#39 comment by auntie kandyNovember 20, 2012

what a cutie. he my nefew. i love hime and again he a cutie

#40 comment by SusannaNovember 20, 2012

What a cutie! :) Such a creative costume!

#41 comment by GidgetNovember 20, 2012

Love this costume! Takes imagination to do this!

#42 comment by SarahApril 14, 2013

I want to make something like this for my 20th old for a Cinco de Mayo dance. I went to Walmart to look for the pajamas, but am a little confused as to what I was looking for. I don't know of any one piece pajamas that don't have zippers or anything. Could you possibly direct me to one, or where I could find one? Thanks! I love the idea! :)

#43 comment by WendiApril 14, 2013

There are some one piece PJ's that the top of them are wide enough that the child can slip them on through the head. The fabric on the top kind of folds over once the pj's are on if that makes sense. This is also common with undershirts for little ones. I found this was the easiest way to get the costume on and off but I guess if you found one with a zipper or snaps you could just sew or glue around the zipper or snaps and put it on your child that way.

#44 comment by KellyMay 9, 2013

HI Wendi,

I was hoping you could email me at Kelly.ladd[at]bonniercorp.com. I have a question for you about this costume. It's so adorable! :) thanks, Kelly

#45 comment by BevJuly 21, 2013

What colors did you use? I can tell the primary colors but are the lite ones, white, pink, & light blue - or is it what and picture makes them took like the other light colors

#46 comment by WendiJuly 21, 2013

Light blue and light pink, no white :)

#47 comment by BrittanyAugust 9, 2013

I am so making this for myself! Yes, I am 29, but hey, I can still have fun! Thanks for the tutorial video!

#48 comment by ShannonAugust 22, 2013

Can anyone tell me how well this held up in the car? We live out in the middle of nowhere so "trick or treating" is driving to grandma and grandpa's house. Want to make this for my 2 year old this year

#49 comment by SheilaSeptember 24, 2013

I'm going to attempt this for my grandson. On the felt you cut it long ways - do you remember how many strips you cpgot out of each piece of Felton

#50 comment by WendiSeptember 24, 2013

I think 3 strips out of one piece

#51 comment by SheilaSeptember 25, 2013

Thank you :-)

#52 comment by DianaOctober 9, 2013

How stinkin adorable is that!!!
Awesome job!!!!

#53 comment by Lori MillerOctober 16, 2013

Just made it for my 3 1/2 year old. Used pj bottoms and a thermal top. Be aware that the top needs to be a few sizes bigger than the size they wear because once it's all felted up, there is no "give/stretch" to the clothing. I originally made it with the matching pj top only to find out it was not going to fit try as I did...and I think that if I had managed to get it on, I would have had to cut him out of it! So stinking cute and he LOVES it!

#54 comment by SheilaOctober 17, 2013

I'm making it out of a two piece set right now and I finished the pants and realized we had that issue lol

#55 comment by TarynOctober 19, 2013

I made this costume for my almost 5-year old son. It was a TON of work to make, but it looks AWESOME and has received so many great compliments.
Here are my tips if you want to make this costume too:

1. I bought a pair of footed fleece pajamas from Goodwill. They were a little large for my son, which is good because the felt kind of binds up the suit once it's glued on, so without this extra space, he may not have been able to move very well (think Randy on "A Christmas Story"). Even now, he cannot sit in this costume - there just isn't enough give now that the felt is on there. I cut the feet out of the PJs, and since I wanted a seamless look, I had my son wear the PJs backwards so the suit zips in the back, rather than the front.
2. This suit is HEAVY (and for the record, it's also hot), so I wouldn't recommend doing it in a pant/shirt combo without a good plan to keep those pants up.
3. Buy your felt by the yard if you can. I used about 10 colors, at 1/8 yard each (give or take a bit - I actually bought 1/4 yard of each, but have quite a bit left over). I used a rotary cutter to cut the felt into strips that were about 2.5 inches wide, then I used the same cutter to make the fringe cuts. It took about 3 hours for this step alone.

4. I easily used 50 hot glue sticks on this costume.

5. This isn't a hard project, but it is a slow and tedious one. In all, I'd say it took a full 24 hours to complete(I wish I was exaggerating...I'm probably underestimating it).

6. Once you have all the fringe glued on, take the time to gently stretch some of the fringe pieces to make them a little longer than the others so your fringe isn't all cut in exact straight lines...this helps make the costume look more like a piņata and adds some fun texture.

7. I used white craft cones for the horns on the hat...I didn't realize how heavy they'd be until I finished everything and it was too late. I would not recommend doing that. Make your horns out of the same foam paper you use to make the head piece so the horns don't weigh everything down.

This costume is darling an unique, but it takes a RIDICULOUS amount of time and patience to make. Now that mine is done I think it was worth it...but there were many times in the middle of it, that I was cursing myself for ever even THINKING it was a good idea to try to make it. I'm in love with the results, but they were certainly hard won.

#56 comment by WendyOctober 23, 2013

I'm so excited... I just made the pants and top... hat tomorrow!! Yes, I'm 32 years old, but I work at a high school and I love to see the kids' faces light up for some fun! I bought old scrubs at our local goodwill and so far so great!!! I plan to carry around a stick and then toss out candy!!! :) Thanks for the awesomeness!!!

#57 comment by JeanninaAugust 27, 2014

Would it make the costume lighter if I used colored fabric instead of felt? Or even used a white bed sheet with painted or dyed strips? My daughter is 2 and we will be inside at a shopping mall.

#58 comment by WendiAugust 27, 2014

Yes it would make it lighter for sure. I am from Canada so when I made this costume I was thinking of walking outside in freezing temperatures.

#59 comment by JeanninaSeptember 1, 2014

Thanks!

#60 comment by KristenOctober 20, 2014

Hi Wendi - My name is Kristen and I work for ABC's The View in NYC. One of our producers saw this pinata Halloween costume and loved it! We would love to feature it in an upcoming show for Halloween. Please comment back as to how we can best reach you!
~Kristen

#61 comment by AbbyOctober 20, 2014

Almost done making my son's costume! I saw a picture of this and just had to recreate it! I am so excited! The warm felt works perfect for us cause it gets very cold this time of year, I also have sewn it all by hand. Thanks for the inspiration!